The largest ice-free region in Antarctica is the McMurdo Dry Valleys area of southern Victoria Land. Within the Dry Valleys there are a series of perennially ice-covered lakes that may provide information about the overall climatic history of the region. Dr. Carolyn Dowling, Arkansas State University, and Dr. Glen Snyder, Rice University, are conducting research on these lakes. In this photo researcher Slade Wright uses a winch to lower the Go-Flow water sampling instrument into Lake Fryxell. To learn more about this research read the January 15, 2006, issue of THE ANTARCTIC SUN at: http://antarcticsun.usap.gov.